Solar energy is increasingly becoming an economical energy choice for American home owners and businessess as prices continue to FALL! (1)
Solar Energy has many different uses:
Electricity
- Solar Cells- convert light directly into electricity. For example, calculators and solar panels like the pictures above. (4)
-They absorb the energy in sunlight and cause electrons to flow, which produce electricity. (5)
Solar Energy Industries Association: http://www.seia.org/cs/government_affairs_and_advocacy/fact_sheets
- Solar Furnaces- using mirrors to concentrate heat into a small space and produce very high temperatures. (4)
-Solar Furnaces generate electricity from sunlight by focusing solar energy on a receiver. (1)
Heat
- Solar Water Heating- this is where heat from the sun is used to heat water (4)
-Residential solar water heating systems reduce the need for conventional water heating about two-thirds.(2)
- You can use solar energy to heat water in homes, buildings, or swimming pools. (1)
- You can use solar energy to heat spaces in homes, greenhouses, and buildings.(1)
- You can use solar energy to heat fluids to high temperatures to operate a turbine to generate electricity.(1)
